Oprah Winfrey once said, “Create the highest, grandest vision for your life because you become what you believe.” Her own life attests to her grand vision, and today we honor Martin Luther King, Jr. whose grand vision was embodied in his “I Have a Dream” speech. Much of his dream

A few years ago another sister and I planted two tiny trees at Lial Renewal Center. They’re still there and taller. When we planted them I didn’t place bets on their survival, but there seems to be a chance for full growth someday. Nelson Henderson wrote, “The true meaning of

Paul Boese said, “Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” Who is not in need of forgiveness, and who does not need to forgive someone else? Once the hurt has occurred, nothing can change. No matter how much we’d love to change the hurt we

Junk mail claims “You’re a winner!” until you read the catch that costs. The gospels also have a catch: “Find life! (But first deny yourself, take up your cross, and let go of life).” In Jesus we see in human terms what it means to be God. The gospels are

Balaam’s oracle prophesies the Messiah: “I behold him, though not near: A star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel” (Numbers 24). In Advent we often say that we need to bring Christ to birth. What does this mean? Evolution is birthing the Christ through a

  Mary’s yes to the Angel Gabriel exploded into God’s entering our world. God had been longing to be one of us for billions of years. God loved us that much that he created a universe. At the Big Bang 14.8 billion years ago God was on his way to

  Water was everything to the people of Israel, so the coming of the Messiah was marked by rivers and fountains and lush greenery. Water in abundance was a definite sign of God’s presence. God created humans with a destiny toward divine plenitude. We’re evolving toward a new heaven and

  Ebeneezer Scrooge was converted when he realized after the visitation of the three ghosts that the past, present, and future are all rolled into one. In liturgy we call that “anamnesis.” We remember the past, pray about the present, and know the potential for the future. As we look

Throughout Advent we hear “Prepare the way.” So we get busy filling in valleys, making mountains low, smoothing the rough ways. All the earth is getting ready, actually evolving to become Love, the metaphor of Christ. The Spirit who breathed upon the waters in Genesis continues to breathe over the

In today’s lectionary readings Jesus cured two blind men because of their faith, and the prophet Isaiah claimed that “on that day…the eyes of the blind shall see.” Whatever Jesus did and was will be fulfilled in the Second Coming, when we will all see aright. We are evolving toward